da Duff was in da ‘Ville For All da Duffers !!

Yesterday, Duff Goldman, of Ace of Cakes fame, was in the KitchenAid Fairway Club doing a demonstration at the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla.  He fixed a little crack with Finlandia Vodka in a cake that was made in the likeness the Alfred S. Bourne Championship Trophy.  Evidently a crack presented itself after the trip to Louisville from Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes.

Duff’s a lot of fun; he’s witty and he seems to kinda like the ‘ville after playing the Lebowski Fest a fear years back with his band.  He made a cake for Lebowski Fest, too, and it was part of an episode of Ace of Cakes a few seasons ago.

A self-proclaimed foodie with very little talent, I was intrigued with his prowess in the kitchen with a teeney purring compressor that allowed the Finlandia, mixed with a little liquid silver, to fix a little crack in a cake that was almost as tall as I am!

He is able bodied in a crowd but must have some sort of Howie Mandel germophilia because afterward when I interviewed him one-on-one, he had very defined parameters of his personal space. And, I’m one those of folks who calls people shoog and I touch people on their arms or their backs as a way of saying hey.  He didn’t like that; not at all.  That kinda sprayed cool water – maybe some Finlandia would have been better —  on the deal and he kinda didn’t want to talk much about food in Louisville but more about his new show coming up on the Cooking Channel where he rides a Harley and looks for the best desserts in a town.  I had a few ideas for him for Louisville, but I think he would have delegated me to a producer had I offered them up.

All Duffing aside, the KitchenAid Fairway Club is like a spa for foodies.  I wasn’t much of a cook until I bought my KitchenAid mixer and I can hardly cook without it now.  Being in the space was like heaven to me.  There was a mixer in every color: yellow like a cab; pink like a peony and gold like the color of my car.  Except that I can only really use one, I wanted one in every color.

I did walk away with some great cooking tips and ideas about how to make homemade pasta.  I make it at home already but with little help beyond the flour, egg and my granite island and a pasta maker.  Did you know you can make perfectly cut pasta with an attachment the KitchenAid mixer? I wish Mother’s Day was upcoming or, that my birthday was sooner than November.  The KitchenAid foodie demonstrations are going on throughout the tournament and they feature local chefs and even if you’re not a foodie, the demonstration space is really impressive to see and the folks at KitchenAid doing the food prep and smoothie making are sweet as pie, Shoog.

Here’s the rest of the schedule for the KitchenAid Fairway Club:

•    Friday, May 27

2:00-3:00 p.m. – Knife skills demonstration featuring Celebrity Chef Jacques Pepin of “Essential Pepin” 3:30-4:30 p.m. – Live taping of “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs” featuring local Chef Matthew Antonovic of Mozz and hosted by Tim Laird

•    Saturday, May 28

2:00-3:00 p.m. – Cooking demonstration featuring Celebrity Chef Michael Symon of Lola in Cleveland, Ohio and Roast in Detroit, Mich. Symon is also known for his appearances on Food Network’s Iron Chef.      3:30-4:30 p.m. – Live taping of “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs” featuring local Chef Jeremy Ashby of Azur and hosted by Tim Laird

•    Sunday, May 29

11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. – Live taping of “Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs” featuring local Chef Anthony Lamas of Seviche and hosted by Tim Laird